Baker resigning as Sewanee baseball coach and other sports news

July 25th, 2014by Staff Reports in Sportlocal

Scott Baker is leaving the Sewanee baseball program after 14 years as coach to become the coach at Richard Stockton College in Galloway, N.J. His 166 wins are the most in program history, 60 more than famed football coach Shirley Majors had as the No. 2 man on the diamond. Baker also oversaw and did much of the work on the complete renovation of Montgomery Field, including laser grading, new irrigation, resodding and construction of multipurpose building and grandstand area. "My family and I have had 14 wonderful years at Sewanee," Baker said in a school release. "I will always be grateful for the opportunity that athletic director Mark Webb gave me, as well as for his friendship. There are relationships I have on the Mountain that I will always cherish and hope to continue, so it is with mixed emotions that Jeanne and I make this move. ... With the renovations at Montgomery Field, the talented freshman class coming to the Mountain, and the 40-plus-man roster available this fall, I believe the Tigers are in good shape next year and for many years to come." Said Webb: "During his tenure, Coach Baker has been an outstanding leader of our baseball team and has many contributions to the program. While he will be greatly missed, we wish him much success with this new opportunity."

• The RBI Southeast Regional youth baseball and softball tournament runs today through Sunday in Chattanooga, with the championship games set for AT&T Field and Jim Frost Stadium. Leagues from six cities in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and Alabama are represented in the event that will use fields also in the rest of the Warner Park complex and at McCallie School and Notre Dame. Baseball games begin at 8 and softball games at 9 this morning. Champions will advance to the 2014 RBI World Series in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The baseball competition has senior and junior divisions.

Football

• Tusculum College football wide receiver Justin Houston from Bradley Central has added a second preseason All-America selection this week, along with Tusculum tight end Wesley Powell. They were named to the 2014 USA College Footbal Division II team. Houston, a 5-foot-8 junior, set Pioneers records with 110 catches, 1,347 receiving yards, 1,914 all-purpose yards and a 99-yard kickoff return last season.

Softball

• The Lighthouse Lookouts/Athletic Shop slowpitch team from Chattanooga finished fourth out of 15 teams last weekend in the Softball Players Association Men's 50+ Major World Championships at Dalton, Ga. The Lighthouse Lookouts edged the Rochester (N.Y.) 50s 34-30 and beat the Southern Elite from Woodstock, Ga., 33-16 in pool play and then began bracket play with a 40-18 defeat of Southern Elite. Because of rain, the Lookouts' 8:30 a.m. game Saturday against famed Doc C's from Pensacola, Fla., did not start until about 8 p.m. and then had a reduced time limit, but the Chattanoogans rallied to tie with eight runs in the bottom of what was to be the last inning and scored three runs an inning later and won 32-31 on Butch Womack's two-out, bases-loaded line drive to right center field. The Lookouts lost 34-11 Sunday morning to the Rated Athletics team from California that ended up topping Florida's Good Times for the championship but then clipped Team Arkansas 14-13 before losing 18-17 to the Levin 50s. The Lookouts were allotted three players on the SPA All-American team: Rodney Waters, who batted .880 with 11 home runs and 23 RBIs in the seven games; pitcher Womack, who hit .821; and Art Pendergrass, who batted .800. Also, Steve Moffett hit .833, Frank Markley .824, Blake Parham .739, Mark Talley .708, Kevin Highsmith .654, Van Shumaker .630 and Mike Wood .600 -- Shumaker with eight homers and Markley and Wood with five each.